Steps to Become a Product Manager

If you’ve ever wanted to become a product manager, here’s the roadmap I wish I had when I was a SWE: And no, you don’t need an MBA. You definitely don’t need a product title. You just need to start playing the role before you get the role. Let’s break it down: (Full details here: https://lnkd.in/erSRWwUF) — ONE - SWE vs PM: What Actually Changes? You're already doing 70% of the job. But PMs go a level up - not because they’re better, Just because they zoom out. Here’s how it shifts: • From writing code → to writing PRDs • From picking up tickets → to talking to real users • From owning a backlog → to owning a roadmap • From just shipping features → to measuring success • From increasing velocity → to setting product direction You're closer than you think. — TWO - The 4 Skills to Start Developing If you want to break into product, build these like muscles: 1. Product Sense Prioritize user needs → not just engineering timelines. 2. Metrics + Data Learn how to define north stars, track guardrails, and build dashboards that prove what works. 3. Stakeholder Management Run the meetings. Talk to sales. Handle feedback without panic. 4. Communication Translate technical complexity into clarity. For execs, users, and everyone involved in product. — THREE - The Artifacts That Set You Apart PMs write things. Start building these now: a. Product Strategy → Where are we going and why b. Roadmap → What we’re shipping and when c. PRD → What this feature actually needs d. Feature Results → What worked, what didn’t, etc These become your portfolio later. — FOUR - First Moves That Actually Work Forget cold applying. That's way too long process. Here’s how real transitions happen: 1. Internal transfer to PM (what I did) 2. Launch a side project (be your own PM) 3. Hybrid PM/SWE role (infra, API, tools) 4. Own the internal tooling roadmap 5. Contribute PM work to open source You've to earn the title by doing the work. — FIVE - How to Nail PM Interviews PM interviews aren’t Leetcode. And they're relatively easier than the coding interviews. You'll be asked interview questions around: Product sense, behavioural, system design, etc. (You will get detailed guides in the newsletter) But the best way to answer them is: Focus on the outcomes, users, and business: “I shipped X → which drove Y outcome” “I made this call when data was unclear” “I led across functions without the title” “I helped my team navigate tradeoffs” — SIX - Resume + Portfolio Tips The singular goal: Make it scream “Secret PM.” a. Add business outcomes to your bullets b. Swap verbs: built → led, implemented → launched c. Create a Notion portfolio → link your strategy docs, PRDs, dashboards — I made this shift decades ago and it changed my life. It might change yours as well. Best of luck, Aakash ❤️

I'm an ex-Google PM. If you're working in big tech but want to move to the Product Management ladder, follow these 5 steps: 👇 I’ve seen multiple roles transition to the PM ladder during my time at Google. Sales, marketing, program managers. The process is different for every company but certain fundamentals are the same: 1. Collect product skills/experiences Nearly every role has some overlap with product management. Find the elements of your work that have to do with customers or the business. Make an inventory of all the work that you actually do, and the tasks and responsibilities that occupy your time. Rank each item on how much it relates to the typical work of product managers. Then set goals and targets for yourself and your team that allow you to spend more time on activities that strongly relate to product management. 2. Join the product team You need to become useful to the product team. Read all vision, strategy and roadmap docs available and learn about the problems the product team is trying to solve. Join as many product meetings as you can and share your customer insights. Offer to help with any of these problems. Suggest solutions (but be brief). 3. Recruit your manager Involve your manager as soon as you have firmly decided to pursue this path. Your relationship with your manager influences everything about your career path. So if you do not (or worse, CAN not) discuss your career growth plans with your manager, you need to first get a new manager. This is no small task but it is necessary. A bad manager relationship will effectively stop any further career growth. Assuming you’ve got a supporting manager, explain your long-term goals and craft short term objectives together that support your gradual transition into product. 4. Learn internal job landscape Get to know the open product roles and the hiring managers. Look for overlaps between your product experience and the problems & activities described in JDs. Find PMs currently working on the hiring manager’s team (or reporting chain). Ask for a 15-minute chat to "help an aspiring product manager". During these conversations, you're looking to learn about the business & org. You want to understand the problems they're facing. 5. Look for opportunities When you find a role with problems similar to ones you’ve solved, write the hiring manager. Keep it short: you've solved similar problems and here are 3 reasons you can help them do the same. Put a meeting on their calendar and come prepared to sell! _______ ☝️ As part of this process, your resume will get more and more PM & PM-related content. This means that you can also apply to external PM roles. Which I strongly recommend that you do. You can always work for a few years in an actual PM role and then come back to your current company (sometimes even with a shortened interview process). _______ Thanks for reading! DM me for more details about breaking into product management! 💪

Breaking into Product Management is not about: - Getting Product Management certificates - Following top Product Management influencers - Paying thousands of dollars for taking a Product course - Asking random Product Managers to help them at their work - Asking the question “How to break into Product management” every day - Doing example Product exercises without anyone reviewing them - Posting generic Product content on your LinkedIn Wall - Applying to all open Product jobs you can find - Reading tons of Product books - Learning to code This only gives you an illusion of progress. Instead: - Working in a company ready to support your career growth to Product Management - Watching Product educational videos slowly, trying to consume their leanings - Building your own Product, setting its goals and working towards them - Direct interaction with Product influencers in posts crafted to help you - Finding a mentor willing to give you the right advice when you need it - Spending tons of time preparing for any upcoming job interview - Preparing a tailored resume for every application you make - Read a few books, but with understanding and taking notes - Explore the history of successful products like Facebook - Making becoming a Product Manager a hobby you enjoy but, most importantly: 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 ���𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿. How? Easy! Grab your favorite Product and answer the following questions: Start with these questions: - What is its vision? - Who are its users? - What are its metrics? - Who are its competitors? - What are the key features? - What are its user personas? - How can this Product grow? - What is the size of its market? - What is its monetization model? - What is the main Product funnel? - What are the biggest pains to solve? - What problem is this product solving? - Are there any untapped opportunities? - What is the users’ rating of the Product? - Are there additional monetization options? - Why do you like or perhaps dislike this Product? - What would happen if this Product shut down today? - How did it change over the years it’s been on the market? - What would have to change to make this Product obsolete? - How did the users address the same problem before having that Product? - What would you look into first if you were the Product’s newest Product Manager? Be curious. Be patient. Be ready to fail and try again. You will be successful! Breaking into product management is really proving you have the talent, and skills and you gathered the right experience, even if you didn’t hold a position. It took me 5 years to break into Product Management proper, despite already having the title. Many years passed until I was hired at Microsoft. Looking forward to your questions in the comments! #productmanagement #productmanager 📌 P.S. Become a Product Manager! Visit drbartpm. com and start learning. Use the code “linkedinfollower” on checkout to receive a 30% discount on all of them :)

These are 3 things I did that helped me the most to become a Product Manager 👇 1. Network with Product Managers the right way Understanding what Product Managers do was critical for me to prepare for creating my resume, my LinkedIn Profile, and understand my transferrable skills. Most people fail when networking because they immediately ask for a job or a referral. When connecting with Product Managers, your goal should be to LEARN about the role - referrals will come later. Here's how I increased my chances of getting a response from PMs on LinkedIn. I searched for PMs who met any of these criteria: - Went to my same college - Are from the same country/city - Transitioned from my current role into Product Management - Transitioned from my current/past company into one I'm interested in ⭐️ Your message should be short and concise, be respectful of their time, and ask for advice and not a referral. Your request should be simple: think about "How can I make it easy for them to say yes?". 2. Work on your story Your story will shine through your resume, your LinkedIn profile, and how you introduce yourself on a call. Everyone who becomes a PM, regardless of their background, becomes an expert in 2 things: a. Understanding transferrable skills they have related to Product Management b. Using those transferrable skills on their resume, profile, and story It should be clear on your resume and LinkedIn that you've done the work of a PM even if you didn't have the title (transferrable skills 😉). Transferrable skills are more than keywords like "working cross-functionally". transferrable skills are about how you influenced a cross-functional team to create/implement/change/achieve something that had an impact on the organization and/or customers ⭐️ What if you don't have many PM transferrable skills? It's time to either (a) plan how to exercise them on your job and/or (b) start working on a side project that allows you to build those skills. 💎 Need help with your resume or LinkedIn? Check my comment below! 💎 3. Create a good plan to become a PM Becoming a Product Manager is a marathon, not a sprint. Applying to a PM job and waiting for a call won't work for most people. Create a good transition plan that works for YOU. For example: a. Internal transfers: work with PMs at your company to become on. b. Change jobs, then internal transfers: No PMs at your company? find a job similar to what you do at another company with PMs, then work on an internal transfer. c. Leverage your expertise at a startup: Have X+ years of experience in an industry? Use that to negotiate with startups on getting a PM title and leverage your experience. c. Volunteer: Find non-profits or organizations around you to help them with projects as their PM d. Build your product: Nothing stops you from being a PM of your product! ⭐️ Certifications WILL NOT get you into Product Management, but hard work, networking, and a good plan WILL. #productmanagement

I often coach job seekers working to break into Product Management. As a PM myself, here’s my honest take on how to land this coveted role. First, let’s level-set on a few realities of the Product Management space: 1. PM jobs pay well, but are high-pressure with constant change and variability - Many PMs burnout; newcomers need to brace themselves for the unique demands of the job 2. Supply of PM applicants exceeds demand - In 2024, most companies don’t need to take chances on a candidate with little-to-no PM experience - be realistic with expectations. 3. PM strategies change heavily depending on product market (B2B, B2C, Internal Tools). - Candidates need to be aware of these nuances when trying to attract employers, or marketing themselves for jobs 4. Domain knowledge is the most critical skill/trait for an in-demand PM (IMO) - The product space changes constantly (new tech, tools, trends); no one cares what ‘framework’ you use if you’re an expert in what customers want That said, here are 3 strategies for landing PM jobs with limited experience. Strategy 1 - Internal transitions from protect-adjacent roles. When the market is hyper-competitive, this might be the most effective way to break in. Support a product as a Technical Program Manager, or Data Analyst (or similar) and look for opportunities to jump into Product Roles that open up as things scale. Managers might appreciate familiarity with the inner workings and be more open to a new PM. Strategy 2 - Pitch your own idea for a new product/feature, and assign product work to yourself. Work on a product idea as a ‘side-project’ - get involved in user research, testing, and wireframing. Use these experiences to build a portfolio and prepare for your future transition. Strategy 3 - Upskill, and target ‘lower-risk’ product management opportunities. Pursue PM certifications like: - PMC from Product School - PMC from Pragmatic Institute - CSPO from Scrum Alliance - ACPMPO from 280 Group Once ready, target products or services with more room for error or iteration. Internal products, not visible to the public, are generally lower risk - but even here competition is stiff. - - - It’s a gate-kept skill in many ways, and very competitive. There’s loads more to discuss, but I hope this helps folks interested in Product. Feel free to ask more questions in the comments.